Dog Owners Turn To ‘Debarking’ Surgery To Keep Their Dogs

Dog debarking is being performed at animal hospitals across the country, including Colorado.

Dawn Hern told CBS4 she had no choice because her dog simply would not stop barking.

Most cities have a noise ordinance and Hern had already received complaints, fines and even a court summons about her barking dog. She doesn’t care who thinks she’s cruel; she simply didn’t want her dog taken away from her.

Lucy Lou was Hern’s family dog. But like the saying, her bark was worse than her bite and it was causing problems in her neighborhood. Castle Rock has a five minute barking ordinance. After five minutes it’s considered a nuisance.

“We had a neighbor that did not like dogs barking and she was a barker,” Hern said.

The Herns had her undergo a surgical procedure.

“We had her vocal chords snipped,” Hern said. “It was kind of funny actually because she really thinks she’s barking. You get this great big huge 200 pound dog and it (barks softly),” Hern said.

But not everyone is laughing.

“With a debark, I’m not a fan of them. At this hospital I can’t remember the last one we’ve done,” Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald has performed debark surgeries as a last resort in the past. He’s concerned about the ethics issue.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.